This article is part of the supplement: Anemia in Critical Care: Etiology, Treatment and Prevention

Review

Pathophysiology of intensive care unit-acquired anemia

Mitchell P Fink

Watson Professor of Surgery, Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

author email corresponding author email

Critical Care 2004, 8(Suppl 2):S9-S10doi:10.1186/cc2410

Published:	14 June 2004

Abstract

The formation of red blood cells (RBCs) in the bone marrow is regulated by erythropoietin in response to a cascade of events. Anemia in the intensive care unit can be caused by a host of factors. Patients in the intensive care unit may have decreased RBC production and a blunted response to erythropoietin. Administration of recombinant human erythropoietin may stimulate erythropoiesis, increase hematocrit levels and hemoglobin concentration, and reduce the need for RBC transfusions.